I am seeking information or even a source of further information concerning the Shorts 450 a proposed 45-48 commuter airliner de[velopment of the successful Shorts SD 360.
I am particularly interested in finding artists impressions or photographs of models displayed at airshows and such.
I understand that a considerable amount of work went into this proposed aircraft and that many airlines were expressing considerable interest in acquiring it but at some point following the takeover of Shorts by the Bombardier group the 450 (sometimes referred to as the 480) and also the proposed jet powered FJ(X) 48 seat regional jet were both cancelled.
Two former Shorts employees I have spoken to on this subject expressed their rather caustic view that Bombardier had these projects cancelled not because the aircraft were poorly designed or conceived or even potentially costly but rather the new owners had these promising aircraft cancelled as they were going to be direct competitors to two existing Bombardier products - the canadair regional jet series and the DHC-8 series.
Extensive research on my part has led to what can only be described as an information black hole.
No photograph of the proposal or artists conception or proposed layout or even proposed specifications appear to exist of the type 450 / 480.
If any reader can shed some light or provide some or all of the items listed above I would be very grateful.
Yours in eager anticipation,
greenmartin (a huge Shorts 360 fan)
If you hit the archive tab at the top of this page and type Shorts 450 in the the search bar, it will bring up a number of Flight articles referencing the project.
Rob